Robot Wars: The Second Wars
Robot Wars: The Second Wars was the second series of the British television game show Robot Wars. It was originally broadcast from 1998 to 1999 on BBC Two. The series was hosted by Craig Charles, the pit reporter was Philippa Forrester and commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce. Format The series consisted of twelve heats, with six robots competing in each heat. The twelve winners from the heats moved onto the Semi-Finals. In each heat, the six robots would compete through a series of three challenges - the Gauntlet, the Trial and the Arena. :*'The Gauntlet' was an assault course with three separate routes, each filled with various hazards and guarded by the House Robots. Competitor robots had to make their way as far down the course as possible in the time allowed. The robot covering the shortest distance by the end of the stage was eliminated, leaving five robots to continue. :*'The Trial' was a set challenge which varied from heat to heat. Events held during the course of the series included Sumo, Football, Skittles, Tug of War, King of the Castle, Joust and Pinball, each with their own specific objectives and goals. The lowest-performing robot from each Trial would be eliminated, allowing four robots to continue. :*'The Arena' was the first combat stage for the remaining robots, which were paired off and fought in one-on-one battles. As the stage's name implies, each battle was held in the main Robot Wars Arena, which featured various hazards including the House Robots. In the Heats, two winning robots from the Arena stage would face each other in the Heat Final, where the winner would progress to the Semi-Finals. The series had two Semi-Final shows, each with six heat finalists initially reprising the Gauntlet stage. Five robots would progress to the Pinball Trial, held exclusively during these Semi-Finals, where the lowest-scoring robot from each running would be eliminated. As with the heats, the remaining four robots from the Trial stage would then face each other in two one-on-one Arena battles. The two winners from each Semi-Final went through to the Grand Final, where the four remaining robots were paired off in two 'Eliminator' rounds. The winners of each 'Eliminator' met for a final battle to determine the series champion, with the losers also taking part in a 'play-off' to determine third and fourth place finishes. Seeded robots 1. Roadblock 2. Mortis 3. Bodyhammer 4. Killertron 5. Cassius 6. Chaos Heats Heat A Robots competing in Heat A: Victor, Napalm, Panda Monium, Piece De Resistance, Demolition Demon, Caliban Gauntlet: Caliban eliminated Trial (Skittles): Piece de Resistance eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Napalm vs Panda Monium: Napalm won *Victor vs Demolition Demon: Demolition Demon won Arena Final *Napalm vs Demolition Demon: Napalm won Heat B Robots competing in Heat B: Mace, Leighviathan, Wheelosaurus, Death Trak, Tantrum, Chaos Gauntlet: Death Trak eliminated Trial (Tug of War): Tantrum eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Mace vs Leighviathan: Mace won *Chaos vs Wheelosaurus: Chaos won Arena Final *Mace vs Chaos: Mace won Heat C Robots competing in Heat C: Challenger, Dreadnaut, Mortis, Oblivion, Rameses II, Griffon Gauntlet: Griffon eliminated Trial (Joust): Challenger eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Dreadnaut vs Oblivion: Oblivion won *Rameses II vs Mortis: Mortis won Arena Final *Mortis vs Oblivion: Mortis won Heat D Robots competing in Heat D: Razer, Inquisitor, Milly-Ann Bug, Bodyhammer, Behemoth, Elvis Gauntlet: Bodyhammer eliminated Trial (Football): Milly-Ann Bug eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Razer vs Inquisitor: Inquisitor won *Elvis vs Behemoth: Behemoth won Arena Final *Inquisitor vs Behemoth: Behemoth won Heat E Robots competing in Heat E: Spin Doctor, Killertron, Pain, ORAC, Technophobic, Schumey Gauntlet: Pain eliminated Trial (King of the Castle): Schumey eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Killertron vs ORAC: Killertron won *Technophobic vs Spin Doctor: Technophobic won Arena Final *Killertron vs Technophobic: Killertron won Heat F Robots competing in Heat F: Disruptor, Panic Attack, Corporal Punishment, Whirling Dervish, Ron, The Parthian Shot Gauntlet: The Parthian Shot eliminated Trial (Sumo): Ron eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Panic Attack vs Whirling Dervish: Panic Attack won *Corporal Punishment vs Disruptor: Disruptor won Arena Final *Panic Attack vs Disruptor: Panic Attack won Heat G Robots competing in Heat G: Roadblock, Killerhurtz, Onslaught, Nemesis, R.O.C.S., Limpet Gauntlet: R.O.C.S. eliminated Trial (Skittles): Limpet eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Killerhurtz vs Roadblock: Roadblock won *Nemesis vs Onslaught: Onslaught won Arena Final *Roadblock vs Onslaught: Roadblock won Heat H Robots competing in Heat H: Sting, Loco, Cassius, Groundhog, Rampage, Wizard Gauntlet: Rampage eliminated Trial (Football): Sting eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Loco vs Groundhog: Loco won *Cassius vs Wizard: Cassius won Arena Final *Loco vs Cassius: Cassius won Heat I Robots competing in Heat I: King Buxton, Robo Doc, Prometheus, Rottweiler, All Torque, Cruella Gauntlet: Cruella eliminated Trial (Joust): Rottweiler eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Robo Doc vs King Buxton: King Buxton won *All Torque vs Prometheus: All Torque won Arena Final *All Torque vs King Buxton: King Buxton won Heat J Robots competing in Heat J: Talos, Ivanhoe, Kill Dozer, Broot, Penetrator, G.B.H. Gauntlet: Broot eliminated Trial (Tug of War): Penetrator eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Ivanhoe vs Kill Dozer: Ivanhoe won *G.B.H. vs Talos: G.B.H. won Arena Final *Ivanhoe vs G.B.H.: G.B.H. won Heat K Robots competing in Heat K: Enzyme, The Mule, Phoenix, Plunderbird 2, Mega Hurts, Demon Gauntlet: Phoenix eliminated Trial (King of the Castle): Mega Hurts eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *The Mule vs Demon: The Mule won *Enzyme vs Plunderbird 2: Plunderbird 2 won Arena Final *Plunderbird 2 vs The Mule: Plunderbird 2 won Heat L Robots competing in Heat L: Tender Caress, Haardvark, Vercingetorix, Havoc, Angel of Death, Flirty Skirty Gauntlet: Angel of Death eliminated Trial (Sumo): Tender Caress eliminated Arena Semi-Finals *Haardvark vs Vercingetorix: Haardvark won *Havoc vs Flirty Skirty: Havoc won Arena Final *Haardvark vs Havoc: Haardvark won Semi-Finals Semi-Final 1 Robots competing in Semi-Final 1: Napalm, Behemoth, Panic Attack, Mortis, Mace, Killertron. Gauntlet: Mace eliminated Trial (Pinball): Napalm eliminated Arena *Mortis vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won *Killertron vs Behemoth: Killertron won Semi-Final 2 Robots competing in Semi-Final 2: Roadblock, Cassius, Haardvark, King Buxton, G.B.H., Plunderbird 2. Gauntlet: Plunderbird 2 eliminated Trial (Pinball): G.B.H. eliminated Arena *Cassius vs Haardvark: Cassius won *Roadblock vs King Buxton: Roadblock won Grand Final Robots competing in Grand Final: Cassius, Roadblock, Killertron, Panic Attack. Eliminators *Cassius vs Roadblock: Cassius won *Killertron vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won Playoff *Killertron vs Roadblock: Roadblock won Final *Cassius vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won Awards These are the winners of the various awards given out at the end of the series: *Best Design: Razer *Best Engineered: The Mule *Most Original Entry: Milly-Ann Bug *Sportsmanship Award: Plunderbird 2 Other Weight Classes In addition to the main heavyweight championship, the Second Wars also included several tournaments for robots from other weight classes. These are the final results from those weight classes: Super Heavyweight Championship Heats *Minotaur vs Kick Robut vs Reckless Endangerment: Kick Robut won *Thud vs Roter Osche vs Siren: Siren won *Berserk vs Automatic Jack vs Death Jester: Berserk won *Demon Duck vs Soc'em vs Bottweiler: Demon Duck won Final *Siren vs Kick Robut vs Berserk vs Demon Duck: Kick Robut won Middleweight Championship Final *Hard Cheese vs Wharthog vs Doodlebug: Hard Cheese won Lightweight Championship Final *Damacles vs Rosebud vs Shadow Fiend vs Slippery Strana vs Spartacus: Slippery Strana won Featherweight Championship Final *Anarchy vs Armadillo vs Demolisher vs The Ripper: Demolisher won The Grudge Matches After the main competition, a special episode was shown featuring a number of Grudge Matches. This gave robots the chance to settle old scores and also allowed robots that did not feature in the main series a chance to battle in the arena. Highlights from the battles of the other weight classes were also broadcasted during this episode too. Judgement Day This grudge dated back to a judges' decision in The First Wars when Recyclopse (the original robot of Team Cassius) controversially defeated Mortis for a place in the Grand Final. Cassius vs Mortis Winner: Mortis Reserve Rumble This match was for the reserve heavyweight robots that did not feature in the main series. Lateral Thought vs Malice vs Bumblebot vs Forklift vs Jim Struts Winner: Jim Struts Inferno Insurrection This match featured Sergeant Bash and two flammable robots which were sprayed with paraffin before the event. Sergeant Bash vs Nemesis & Ramrombit Winner: None announced ''' Internet Insurrection This grudge match was to decide which team had the best website. Griffon vs Killerhurtz vs Bodyhammer vs Corporal Punishment Winner: '''Griffon Judgement Day 2 This grudge dated back to the Trial in the series semi-final when Mortis sustained damage to one if its tracks but was given a second chance by the production team and gained enough points (with a bit of help from the House Robots) to eliminate Napalm from the championship. Mortis vs Napalm Winner: Mortis Television ratings The series proved to be a ratings success for BBC 2, since no episode fell below the top three highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows according to BARB. Heat A was the lowest rated episode in the series, but still managed to attract 5 million viewers. From Heats A to F, episodes were consistently behind Have I Got News for You and The Simpsons. However, by Heat G the series had successfully managed to beat Have I Got News for You, with the ratings for Heat H enabling the series to defeat The Simpsons for the first time. Heat H was also the first episode of the series to reach the top two highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows, behind only a then-new series of Gimme Gimme Gimme. The broadcast of Heat K enabled the series to set three new Robot Wars ratings records. By attracting 6.13 million viewers, it became the first Robot Wars episode to top six million viewers, beating the previous record holder for the highest television rating for Robot Wars, Heat C, by 180,000 viewers. According to BARB, Heat K became the first episode to top the highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows, by attracting 290,000 more viewers than Gimme Gimme Gimme. Two other episodes, Heat L and the Grand Final, also topped the highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows, the latter achieving the all-time highest rating for the show at 6.94 million. Specials During this series two specials and a behind-the-scenes series were also produced: The Making of Robot Wars The first special was a behind-the-scenes special about the making of the first series of Robot Wars. The Best of Robot Wars The second special featured clips of some of the best and worst moments of the series. Robot Wars Revealed A behind-the-scenes series of the heats presented by Philippa Forester. 14 episodes were aired on BBC Choice. Category:The Second Wars